With credit flow to corporate sector remaining weak, banks are betting big on advances to the retail sector.
Banks expect that advances to retail customers would support credit growth in 2013-14 like the previous year. That is because demand for credit from the corporate sector is weak.
Although some banks are confident that credit flow to corporate sector would improve eventually, for the time being they depend more on retail business.
The slowdown in the economy discouraged companies to invest in new projects and this reduced flow of bank credit to corporate sector in 2012-13.
Bank credit to retail customers rose 13.5 per cent in February 2013 compared to 12.2 per cent in February 2012, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows. Credit growth to industry slowed to 14.7 per cent in February 2013 from 19.1 per cent in February 2012.
Credit growth to sectors like infrastructure, cement and cement products also faced slowdown besides other industries.
A few bankers feel corporate credit demand may see some revival going forward. They see demand for credit coming from the infrastructure companies.